Welcome to the online home of Audra Jennings, a book publicist and crafter. Here I share about both. I hope you'll find books you'll want to read and crafts you will want to order. I live a rather boring, single life. At times I would like to think I am humorous. The kids I teach in Bible class tend to think so. I also blog about current seasons of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. I don't know why, I just do.

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Tuesday, February 14, 2017

In honor of Valentine's Day

I had jury duty again today. I'll share about it by the end of the week, but I'm so tired from getting up early and waiting around knowing I had other things I needed to do. I'm working late to make it up time and work this week. It's going to be a long week. In honor of Valentine's Day, I share this piece from author Rhonda Stoppe.

The key
truth about marriage is that true happiness is not to be found in your
relationship with your husband, but in your relationship with Christ. Let’s look
at ten key principles to a more fulfilling marriage:

1. Your Husband Was Never Meant
to Be Your Happily-Ever-After

Asking
your husband to be the source of your happiness is an unfair expectation. You
were created to delight in Christ and to be consumed by your love for Him.

When you
resolve to pursue loving Christ with all of your being, you will find the
secret to happiness lies in your relationship with God alone. Only then can you
enjoy fellowship with your husband in a way that honors Christ and blesses your
husband.

2. Respecting Your Husband Will
Inspire Him to Love You More

God
created your husband with a deep longing to be respected by you. Just as deeply
as you long to be loved without condition, your husband desires to receive
unconditional respect from you. Notice I said unconditional respect. This means
you don’t get to hold hostage your respect for your husband when you aren’t
happy with him. Ephesians 5:33 says, “Let the wife see that she respects her
husband” (ESV). This is not a suggestion; this is the Lord’s command to us as
wives.

Your
respect can motivate your husband to accomplish great achievements––because a
man who is honored by his wife can do great things!

3. Staying in Love Is All About
Your Love for God

Any wife
who displays godly character by loving her husband will tell you that the key
to loving your husband does not lie in how well he measures up to your
expectations, but in how well you love God.

Before
you were married, when you fell in love with your man, you had positive and
loving thoughts about him. In marriage, you must work to continue to think such
thoughts about him.

If you
have not made a habit of thinking the best about your husband, you will need to
determine to take “every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”
With God’s help, you can gain victory over negative thoughts about your husband
and replace them with thoughts that are honorable, lovely, and commendable.

When your
love for God is right, He will help you to love your husband.

4. Parenting as One Brings
Unity into Your Marriage and Security to Your Kids

Your
children’s security lies in the health of your marriage relationship. When you
learn to live with your sights upon God’s calling on your life––to know Christ
and make Him known—this will influence how you live at home. God intends for
you to live in a manner that draws your kids to Christ.

Your kids
will be most secure when they observe their parents united, so don’t disagree
with your husband in front of your children about certain rules or disciplines
he may impose. Determine to bow together united in prayer, rather than stand in
conflict with one another, because “the effective, fervent prayer of a
righteous man avails much” (James 5:16).

5. The Grass Is Not Greener on
the Other Side of the Fence

God
created you with a longing to feel loved and valued––by Him. Problems in
marriage begin when you look to your husband to find your worth. God wants to
fill the longings of your heart with Himself. Only through knowing Christ and
living in intimacy with Him will you discover fulfillment.

Because
of sin, you and I struggle with self-worship. And when you are in a state of
self-love, if you’re not satisfied with how your husband treats you, you may
fall for the myth that you would be happier with someone other than your
husband. When you find yourself toying with that idea, you can know that
Satan––who comes to steal, kill, and destroy (see John 10:10)––is seeking to
ruin you and your family.

Realizing
it is wrong to receive your sense of worth from your husband is the first step
to setting him free from the burden of trying to give you what only God can
give.

What’s
the secret to keeping your husband’s attention? While there are many points I
could make to answer this question, I prefer to revisit a statement my husband,
Steve, made once:

The
secret to capturing your husband’s attention for a lifetime is in learning to
find your worth in your relationship with Christ. When you spend your life
developing your inner beauty and staying focused on the Lord, your husband’s
affection for you will grow as he observes the lovely woman of God you are
becoming. The more consistently you pursue Christ, the more beautiful you will
become to your husband, to others, and most importantly, to Christ.

7. Pursuing Your Husband
Sexually Will Fill Him with a Sense of Well-Being

Don’t
make your husband apologize for wanting to have sex with you.

God has
given you a ministry of affirming your husband’s deepest emotional needs
through sex. In the same way that you long for your husband to romance you with
his words and acts of love, he desires to be romanced by you through sexual
intimacy.

When you
happily take your husband to bed, you not only satisfy his God-given physical
need for sex, but you bring healing to his weary soul as well.

8. Grow Rich in Ways You Never
Imagined

When
Steve and I moved to our little house in the country so we could live
debt-free, we had no idea how God was preparing us to serve Him in full-time
ministry. The people we have led to Christ, taught and mentored in truth, and
fellowshipped with in ministry are greater treasures than any possessions we
may have given up. And the hope of one day, for all eternity, worshipping with
those people around the throne of Christ is the greatest treasure we could ever
have.

In the
same way, the more you keep your eyes fixed upon Jesus, the less you will care
about possessions or the earthly issues many couples fight over. Once you
determine to daily seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew
6:33), you will find contentment and peace in your marriage––as well as God’s
purpose for your life.

9. Be a Peacemaker in Your
Marriage Relationship

The only
way to build a marriage free of hurtful discord is through biblical conflict
resolution. Here are eight steps to making peace:

•
Admit you have a problem. Take an honest look at why you are in the conflict.

•
Acknowledge your sinful bent.

•
Refuse to be argumentative.

•
Make peace a priority. Learn to talk through a disagreement for the purpose of
resolution.

•
Pray without ceasing.

•
Forgive your husband as many times as necessary (Matthew 18:22).

•
Seek godly counsel.

•
Learn to be a peacemaker.

Make
yourself so familiar with these eight steps that the next time you and your
husband begin to argue, you can stop yourself from fighting and instead, take
time to reflect on how you can show Christ’s character. By working to resolve
conflict in a way that honors your husband, you can begin to live in a manner
that reflects the Lord’s character to those who are watching how you
live––beginning with your children.

10. The Joy of the Lord Is Your
Strength

Life is
filled with blessings and struggles. Learning to see each experience as an
opportunity for the Lord to shine His light through you is the first step to
realizing God has a purpose in whatever He allows to come your way––even a
difficult marriage.

When you
choose joy in each experience you encounter, you can become a vessel for the
Lord to reach the lost and encourage others––as well as mold you, your husband,
and your children more into the image of Christ. When you live with this
perspective, you will discover the secret to living above life’s
circumstances––and the joy of the Lord

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In accordance with the FTC Guidelines for blogging and endorsements, please note that I have not received payment for any of the reviews posted on this blog.

I am employed both as a freelance publicist and a publicist for a publisher and do post press releases, interviews and blog tours for the books and/or products I represent. However, I post on my blog by choice.

When I do post reviews for books that I have been sent review copies of by publishers, I will note that on posts.

On occasion, I also buy books and read and review them for enjoyment too.